June 29, 2011

Loyola's Frank Amato named coach of the year

Loyola track and field coach Frank Amato was named the National Coach of the Year by the National High School Athletic Coaches Association.

Amato was one of eight finalists for the award which was presented in Michigan last week.

During his 45 year career Amato has won 19 indoor Catholic League titles and 12 outdoor crowns. He is an inductee of the ITCCCA Hall of Fame and a recipient of Loyola's Distinguished Service in the Cause of Youth award.

Comments

It's about 1 month until the high school football season starts, and the 1st thing i did was to actually see which teams could end up in which class, and I have some interesting stuff.

8A: There is a chance that Simeon, Mt. Carmel, AND Maine South (in enrollment order with Simeon being highest) drop to 7A. The chance does seem a little farfetched, but something to watch for. If they all drop, I don't even want to know who could win 8A, because it would be a very open tournament.

7A: This is probably the only class that remains unchanged with a notable exception: East St. Louis. ESL probably will drop all the way down to 5A. Lake Zurich could conceivably drop to 6A, but it seems highly unlikely. If there was ever a time to drop north and south brackets in the higher classes, now would be a good time since we all know that ESL was the only team that could even create a North/South style bracket in 7A or 8A.

6A: Still going to be wide open, even more so after Marmion and Lemont most likely drop to 5A. Notre Dame will be dangerous this year as we finally decided to change our offense and run an offense familiar to a few schools: Maine south's offense, and because of the multiplier waiver ND drops to either 6A or 5A (my guess is 50-50 on where we go if I did this correctly).

5A: ESL drops to 5A, but they probably won't have to face JCA OR Montini, as they're probably going to both drop to 4A (Montini has a better chance of dropping then JCA does). Defending 4A Rochester might drop to 3A as well.

Best of Rest (not in order) : Carmel, JCA, WWS, Mt. Carmel, Stevenson, ESL ( I know, they're not Chicago area but we will hear about them come playoff time), Barrington, LWE, Lemont, Curie

I could honestly blanket 7-20 and flip-flop them all day but there are 3 clear top teams as I understand it: Maine South, Glenbard West, and Simeon, which are also my favorites to win 8A (Simeon) and 7A (Maine South and GBW). There's still not a 6A team anywhere near my sight (lemont will probably be in 5A). I'm not convinced the Catholic League is as good as it was last year as MT. Carmel and Rita have questions at QB. The DVC definitely drops because WWS is not as good as they were the last 2 years and I'm not sold on either Naperville school.

Does WWS ever have a down season? I guess we'ill find out after their first 2 games. I think I would put Carmel in the top 10 and maybe Mt. Carmel to replace St. Rita. LZ is kind of a mystery team this year. I think they will be good, but they sure lost some key players.

Does anyone think Wheaton North will break through this year? Has LW East dropped off? Any Fox Valley teams look good- Cary Grove, Prairie Ridge, CLS?

As LZ fans know, never EVER underestimate Lake Zurich. Their coaches are way too good.

LWE offensively returns a lot. Defensively is another issue after what I saw vs. Glenbard West in the playoffs last year. I would have nightmares of Mark Hiben breaking the state record for receiving yards if I were LWE's D-coordinator.

WWS loses practically their entire offense (If 9-3 is a down season, then I want that type of season), and Glenbard North was the 2nd best team in the conference last year (until Naperville North peaked in the playoffs), so the DVC conference champ should be around the top 5, correct?

Carmel has a 5'6" QB who doesn't look like he can throw (obviously he's not there to throw, but they will have to throw in the playoffs).

Mt. Carmel is replacing their QB, which is a big deal with the veer option. I think Loyola will probably be the best team in the CCL Blue this year, but Rita always has more talent.

I don't know much about the Fox Valley and will let people who do know it better than I do predict it.